Death is like an earthquake: you know it's coming, but you don't
know where or when. You know you should prepare for it, but
somehow it's easier to put off preparations until tomorrow. Only
15-20% of Americans have signed living wills
or advanced directives. Most of us have
difficulty coping with the idea of our own mortality, much less preparing for it.

Yet, when you buy life insurance, draw up a will, or make a
decision about organ donation, you're acknowledging the
inevitability of death. If you don't make all your plans now,
some decisions will be made for you, and they might not be what
you'd have chosen.

An advanced directive, such as a Durable Power of Attorney for
Health Care (living will), can be used to make some of these
choices when you are in good health. Since 1984, it is the most
comprehensive document and the most effective for ensuring that
your desires regarding health treatment are followed. Such
decisions are best made before a crisis occurs, as, at such a
time, you may be unable to communicate your wishes.

You designate someone to make decisions about your medical care,
including withdrawal of life support, when you are unable to
make decisions yourself. You can also indicate your wishes about
prolonging life in this document and any other specific desires
you have about your medical care, such as limits on nutrition
and feeding and/or a request for increased doses of pain
medication to limit suffering.

If you don't want to draw up a formal document, you can simply
inform your doctor of your wishes, so he can write them into
your medical record, or you can talk to your family and/or
friends. However, a written document signed by you and
witnesses or notarized is the best way to make sure your
intentions are carried out.

Here are some of the treatments you might choose (or reject)
in a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care (codicils to
your medical directive):

You may want to include a statement in the document of your
specific preferences about treatment to give your agent and
doctor guidance, or you may want to select one of the general
statements below to reflect your wishes:

I do not want efforts made to prolong my life, and I do not
want life-sustaining treatments to be provided or continued:

- 1. if I am in an irreversible coma or persistent vegetative
state
- 2. if I am terminally ill, and the application of
life-sustaining procedures would only serve to artificially
delay the moment of my death
- 3. under any circumstances where the burdens of the treatment
outweigh the expected benefits, I want my agent to consider
the relief of suffering and the quality as well as the extent
of the possible extension of my life in making decisions
concerning life-sustaining treatments.

Or

I want efforts made to prolong my life,
and I want life-sustaining treatment to be provided unless I
am in a coma or persistent vegetative state, which my doctor
reasonably believes to be irreversible. Once my doctor has
concluded that I will remain unconscious for the rest of my
life, I do not want life-sustaining treatment to be provided
or continued.

Or

I want efforts made to prolong my life,
and I want life-sustaining treatment to be provided even if I
am in an irreversible coma or persistent vegetative state.
Sometimes, people know they are going to die and prepare for
death by giving directions themselves.